


The Charming, Street Urchin Face

by Hairofgoldeyesofblue



Series: Things That Can't Be Taught [1]
Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Friendship, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-11 08:59:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2062029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hairofgoldeyesofblue/pseuds/Hairofgoldeyesofblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The first time Sloan met Don was in a seminar for new AWM employees on sexual harassment."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Charming, Street Urchin Face

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from a line in the movie The Sweet Smell of Success.

The first time Sloan met Don was in a seminar for new AWM employees on sexual harassment; she’d been at ACN for two days, he’d been there for two months.

“I’m not going to make you go around and introduce yourselves and give your bio,” the bored looking HR rep was saying to the group when Sloan walked in the room. She was running slightly late after getting lost, and she muttered a hasty apology to everyone before sliding into an empty seat in the back. “This isn’t school. You’re here because Human Resources, the federal government, and Leona Lansing say you have to be, so let’s just get this over with, and you can all go back to your actual jobs.”

The guy sitting next to Sloan snorted before quickly trying to turn it into a cough. She glanced over at him. He was cute; probably about thirty, with dark curly hair, and a nice enough build. He was wearing a flannel button-down shirt and jeans, which made Sloan _pretty sure_ he wasn’t on-air talent or in corporate. She caught his eye (he had nice eyes) and they shared an eye roll.

The lights in the conference room dimmed, and for the next twenty minutes, they were subjected to a standard-issue video explaining the difference between flirting and being friendly, and how to keep your hands to yourself. The guy in the flannel shirt kept up a sarcastic running commentary under his breath the whole time, and Sloan had to bite down on her bottom lip to keep from laughing out loud.

When the video was over, the HR rep handed out a short quiz to see if they’d all been paying attention and Flannel Shirt Guy audibly groaned.

“Seriously?” he muttered in Sloan’s ear. “Just give us the rules for dating in the workplace and let us go.”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “What? Got your eye on someone already?”

With an over-exaggerated gaze, he looked her up and down appreciatively. Pretending to be offended, Sloan folded her arms in front of her sweater-clad chest to block his view. Flannel Shirt Guy smirked. The sound of a throat being cleared got their attention. HR Rep Guy was glaring at them.

“Something you’d like to share with the rest of us?”

Sloan screwed her face up in concentration so as to fake seriousness. She didn’t dare chance a look at Flannel Shirt Guy for the rest of the seminar.

When it was over and they were finally free, the pair fled from the conference room. They made it down the hall to the elevators just in time before bursting into laughter.

“I feel like I’m in high school again,” Sloan giggled, leaning against the wall as the elevator doors slid open.

Flannel Shirt Guy (she really needed to learn his name at some point) threw her a casual grin. “Were you a troublemaker in school then?”

She shook her head and tried to catch her breath. “ _No_!” – he looked like he didn’t believe her – “I _swear_! I was always the teacher’s favorite, actually.”

He rolled his eyes lightly. “What, were you student council president or something?”

“Treasurer, actually. I’m the new financial correspondent at ACN.”

He gaped, trying to hide the fact that his gaze was scrutinizing her appearance. “Seriously?”

“What can I say? I make nerds look _good,_ ” she said, rolling her eyes and waving a hand flippantly. Sloan knew men found her attractive – they told her often enough – and by now she was used to men ogling her, especially when she was wearing this particular sweater and pair of skinny jeans. It didn’t bother her as much as it probably should. She knew she was smarter than most of the men anyway and that helped a little.

“I’ll say,” he muttered under his breath.

“It’s a little ironic that you’re making borderline sexist comments to me five minutes after we had to sit through a sexual harassment seminar, don’t you think?”

His face reddened slightly. “Oh, right. Sorry about that.”

“Apology accepted.”

“Seriously though, you’re the new financial reporter I keep hearing about? Sloan Sabbith, right?”

“Um, yes,” she replied with raised eyebrows. “Why, what are you? – A Dayside producer or something?”

Flannel Shirt Guy scrunched up his face in a scowl. “ _No_ , I’m a Senior Producer for the new legal show at six. Dayside is for producers who have no morals. “

Sloan snorted. “Wow, I had no idea. I get the feeling it would’ve been less offensive if I’d implied you worked at Fox.”

He shrugged. “Have you ever _met_ anyone on Dayside?” – she shook her head – “Well, when you do, you’ll see what I mean.” The elevator dinged at the nineteenth floor and he moved to get out. “Come find me after your first appearance on _ACN Morning_. I want to see your reaction.”

“Okay, but I don’t even know your name,” Sloan called, as he stepped off the elevator.

“Don Keefer,” he replied, giving her a friendly grin as the doors began to slide shut. “I’ll see you around.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
